Now a slate, commissioned by Tinopolis and S4C, denotes the birth place and death of Gwen in French.

Affair with Rodin

It is also inscribed with: “Mae pobl fel cysgodion i mi ac fel cysgod ydwyf innau” (“People are like shadows to me and like a shadow I am to them”), which is a translation of a sentence Gwen wrote in one of her letters to Rodin.

Gwen was born in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in 1876, but the family moved to Tenby eight years later following the death of her mother.

She had followed her brother, Augustus, to London to study before moving to Paris, where she entered an all-consuming love affair with the world-famous French sculptor Rodin.

Modelling for the accomplished sculptor was an encounter that would change her life. Almost 40 years her senior, John became his lover. She was strongly, some sources would even say obsessively, attached to the artist.

Rodin eventually ended their relationship and for more than a decade, John wrote letters to her former companion on a daily basis. Rodin’s statue Whistler’s Muse testifies of the relationship with John, who served as the model for the masterpiece.

And finding her grave became an obsession for series producer Llinos Wynne.

“I was a little bit obsessed with the fact that no-one knew where Gwen John was buried, bearing in mind that she wasn’t poor, and was quite famous in her day.

“I thought it was strange and a bit sad, and I knew that Sara John, Gwen’s great niece, was also decidedly interested to find where Gwen was buried.

“For years she’s wanted to have a memorial plaque in place for Gwen at her final resting place.

“We met up with Sara and she shared the research she had done so far with us. There were gaps in the research but her information led us to Dieppe.”

Significant milestone

After speaking to the locals and following various trails, the team finally found the record of Gwen’s grave in Dieppe’s Janval Cemetery, documented as Mary John.

“Her Christian names were Gwendolyn Mary John. Her final resting place has been a mystery all these years because there was no headstone, and at the time of her death many graves were being dug up and the bodies burned and re-buried to make space for the bodies of soldiers from the war.”

The memorial was unveiled on Saturday in the French coastal town.

Gwen John, Self portrait

It is a significant milestone in the story of Gwen’s life and Ffion Hague travelled back to France to unveil a memorial in her memory, acknowledging the contribution she made to the arts.

The journey will be filmed for a new S4C documentary.

“There have been hard efforts to ensure a fitting tribute for an artist of international status in the country which she called home for so long,” said Ms Hague, presenter and executive producer of Mamwlad.

In the new programme, which is to be shown on S4C later this year, Ffion follows the preparations for the unveiling the memorial and will hear from some of the experts of the art world about the importance of this historical day.

“From the moment the Mamwlad team successfully found her burial in Dieppe, we were all determined to ensure that this place would be noted officially and finally an ending – at last – to Gwen’s sad story. It is a privilege for me to be there filming for S4C and it will be an unforgettable occasion,” she said.